By Jeff Blackmon, County Star-News, Shamrock
Two Donley County men were among several Texas Panhandle veterans recently who were able to see firsthand just how appreciated they are for their service to America
In September, an Honor Flight made up of area veterans made the trip with family members to Washington, DC, to lay wreaths at war memorials, fellowship, swap war stories, and make new friends. Among those honored veterans were Joe Robinson and Bufford Holland of Donley County, both of whom fought in World War II.
The trip was made possible through America Supports You Texas, an organization committed to supporting American troops currently serving in the military and military veterans. The organization spends time throughout the year raising money for honor flights, which are designed to take veterans on a trip to Washington, DC, to visit the war memorials there and enjoy the camaraderie of other veterans.
“These flights are a sincere attempt to restore true patriotism in our country,” Gene Miller, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, said.
It was also a special chance for World War II veterans to make the trek to Washington, DC, and remember friends and family who they served with that are now gone. According to statistics provided by the National World War II museum as many as 600 World War II veterans die each day. These honor flights are a great way to honor these men and women before they are no longer living.
For a veteran to go on one of these trips they must first be nominated. After an application process and approval, the veterans may go on the trip. If a veteran needs someone to go along to care for them a “guardian” may apply to go along with the veteran. No cost is required for a veteran to attend an honor flight but a “guardian” must pay for their trip.
The agenda for the September trip was a fast and furious one. Wednesday morning the group of 143 left Amarillo airport on a chartered Southwest Airlines flight and arrived in Baltimore, Maryland. Once their the group traveled to the World War II Memorial for a wreath laying ceremony followed by a visit to the new United States Marine Corps Museum.
One special guest with the group was 14-year-old Jordan Langehening of Panhandle, who led the group to each memorial in full dress while playing his bagpipe.
The next day the group spent time at the Iowa Jima Memorial, at Arlington National Cemetery with a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier followed by ceremonies at the Korean War Memorial and Vietnam War Memorial. The group also took time to visit the Lincoln Memorial, the Air Force Memorial and the memorial to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. At the Vietnam Memorial, several members of the party located the names of friends and family and made tracings to take back home.
The final day of the trip the group visited the United States Capitol where they sat on the floor of the House of Representatives and visited with United State Representative Mac Thornberry and heard an address from United States Representative and Vietnam veteran Sam Johnson.
The group then was given a tour of the capitol by Thornberry and then visited the Udvar-Hazy Center, a division of the Smithsonian Institution where several historic airplanes, including the Enola Gay, are housed. Following lunch and a wreath laying ceremony at the United States Navy Memorial, the group headed back to Amarillo to a raucous crowd welcoming home the veterans at the airport.
Everywhere the group went it was met with applause and handshakes. Even foreigners went out of their way to tell these men of courage thank you for their service.
To learn more about Texas Panhandle Honor Flights, visit www.americasupportsyoutexas.org.
Editor’s Note: Sandra Penn contributed to this report.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.